Controller and air-brake handle.



C; GOETZ.

'comaouen AND AIR BRAKE HANDLE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1913- Y I Patented May 30,1916.

CONTROLLER AND AIR-BRAKE HANDLE.

Application filed September 16, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES Gonrz, a citizenof the United States, residing at the city of New York, borough ofManhattan, county and State of New York, have invented a certain new anduseful Controller and Air-Brake Handle, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is a controller or air brake handle for use by motormenon the post of an electrical controller or the valve post of an airbrake.

It is customary for the motorman engaged on electrically-propelledstreet railway cars, and other traction vehicles, to remove the handleor lever from the controller post or the brake valve post on eachoccasion when he leaves his station on the car; As a result of suchfrequent removal and application of the handle of one form or another toand from the post, the angular and rounded upper part of this postbecomes worn to such an extent that the handles or levers of thedifferent motormen who handle the car will not fit so tightly to thepost as to obtain good results in the operation or control of the car,and, furthermore, it becomes necessary to repair the posts and toreplace worn parts of the handles or levers, thus entailing labor andexpense.

According to the present invention, the

handle or lever is provided with a split bushing and with means foradjusting said bushing in order to secure a tight engagement between thebushing and the angular end of the post. p

In a preferred form, the handle or lever is provided with a taperingsocket, and the bushing is made tapering so as to conform to the socket,said bushing being split or divided lengthwise into a plurality ofparts, preferably more than two. The means for adjusting is preferably ascrew, mounted in a bearing on the handle or lever, said screw having aswiveled engagement with the divided bushing so that upon rotation ofthe screw the bushing will be moved end wise for tightening the handleor lever upon the post.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section,illustrating my invention in connection with the handle andSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ma so, 1916.

Serial No. 790,142.

post of an ordinary electric controller. Fig. 2 1s a horizontal sectiontaken on a plane above the post. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view ofone section of the divided bushing. F 1g 4: is a side elevation partlyin vertical sectlon illustrating the invention in connect1on with thehandle or lever for use on the post'of an air brake.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, A designates the postof an electrical controller, the upper part of which is angular in crosssection at a, except that one side is slightly convex at a, this form ofthe post belng usual or ordinary in the art. The post is rotated byapplying power to a handle or lever B which generally is of the kindused in prior devices, except as its construction is modified by thepresent invention. The lever is shown as having an ordinary hand grip band a depending lug b adapted to serve the purposes of a stop. The leveris shown as having a recess 0 in which is fitted the end portion of abracket C, said bracket having an arm 0 in which is formed a screwthreaded opening, indicated by dotted lines at '0 The leveror handle isprovided, furthermore, with a socket D, the

walls of which are tapering. Socket D is angularin cross section,preferably square, as shown in Fig. 2, and the inner surfaces or wallsof the socket converge upwardly.

E designates a bushing which is angular in cross section and tapers inthe direction of its length, said bushing conforming substantially tothe contour of socket D. Ac-

cording to this invention the bushing is di vided into a' plurality ofmembers 6, the lines of division e of the bushing being radial to thelongitudinal axis thereof. It ispreferred to divide the bushing intofour sections, although the'number is not material, and these sectionsare arranged so that their side edges will not contact with each other,as shown in Fig. 2, whereby a certain amount of play is permitted to thesections of the bushing within socket 'D of the handle or lever. Themembers 6, are provided at their upper ends with flanges e which extendtoward each other, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and at the meeting oradjacent corners of the flanges recesses are provided, which recessesconstitute an opening whereby a screw F is adapted to pass into thebushing so as to have a swiveled engagement therewith. As shown, thescrew works in the threads of opening 0 of bracket C, said screw beingthus mounted upon the handle or lever so as to be movable therewith. Thescrew is provided with a smooth portion 7" between collars f, the smoothportion 7' of the screw fitting in the opening formed by the flanges eof bushing members e. The collars 7" engage with the upper flanged partof the bushing and these collars operate to rotatably connect the screwwith the bushing so that rotation of the screw will impart slidingmovement to the bushing within the socket. The divided bushing isretained in operative position by the swiveled connection with the screwand by engagement with the walls of socket D, as a result of which theparts of the bushing will not become separated accidentally, and thehandle may thus be removed from post A or applied to said post A withoutseparately adjusting the parts of the bushing. The screw may be of anydesired di mensions, and for convenience in operation said screw isprovided with a hand grip. In one form the hand grip is a knob F, shownin Fig. 1, whereas in another form the hand grip is a crosspiece F shownin Fig. 4, the latter being provided with a central angular openingwhich fits on an angular upper end 7 of the adjusting screw. The mannerof using the device will be apparent from the foregoing descriptiontaken in connection with the drawings.

hen a motorman leaves the car the screw F is turned in one direction forthe purpose of sliding the divided bushing E within socket D, thusreleasing the grip of the handle or lever upon post A, whereupon thehandle or lever may be easily lifted off the angular end a of the'post.WVhen thus lifted off, the screw and the bushing remain attached to thehandle without any liability.

of the separate parts constituting the bushing dropping out of thesocket, for the reason that the collars of the screw retain the parts ormembers of the bushing within said socket. The handle or lever can beeasily applied to the post by slipping the divided bushing over theangular end a of said post, after which screw F is turned in a directionto draw the members of the divided bushing into engagement with thewalls of socket D, the taper of which forces the members 6 into tightengagement with the respective faces constituting the angular part a ofthe post. The handle or lever is thus applied firmly to the post by thesimple and easy operation of the screw. With. my device the wear andlost motion which takes place between the post and ordinary handles canbe easily taken up by the adjustment of the divided bushing. It is notnecessary to repair the lever or the post as is the case in ordinarydevices. The screw is not in the way of the workman when manipulatingthe handle or lever, and said screw affords an effective and desirablemeans for imparting the required adjustment to the divided bushing,although it will be apparent that other forms of adjusting devices maybe substituted by a skilled mechanic. It will be noted that bracket C issecured detachably to the handle or lever by screws 0 and thus thebracket with the screw F may be dismounted from the handle. Obviously,the several parts of the new device may be taken off and replaced byother parts, thus facilitating repairs.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings the invention is illustrated in connectionwith a. handle or lever b for use on the post a of an air brake. Thelever is provided with the bracket C for supporting the adjusting screwF, said lever being also provided with socket D within which ispositioned the divided bushing E, the said bushing and the screw beingconnected by a swivel, all as hereinbcfore described; in fact. the airbrake handle or lever is similar in all material respects to the leverfor the electrical controller. In addition to the parts composing theinvention, the air brake handle B is provided with a locking dog G, thelatter being provided with a stem 7 which is slidable in lugs 17 of abracket G, said bracket being secured rigidly'to the under side ofhandle B. On the stem. of the dog is a coiled spring h which actsagainst a collar 71, that is clamped on the stem 9 of the dog. Thespring impels the dog normally into engagement with a notched part (notshown) usually provided on the air brake stand. but as such device isordinary in the art, I have not considered it necessary to show thesame.

It is apparent that the divided bushing and clamping screw of myinvention will be used on the handle of an air brake with the samebenefits and advantages as are pointed out in conjunction with theinvenition when applied to a controller handle or ever.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a post to berotated, of a lever for rotating said post, said lever being providedwith a tapering socket, a tapering bushing positioned within saidsocket, said bushing being expansible and being in fric tional. contactwith the post and preventing said post from engaging the walls of saidsocket, and a screw swiveled to the bushing for imparting slidablemovement thereto within the socket, said screw and the bushing beingconnected with the lever so as to be applicable therewith to the postand removable in a connected condition therefrom.

2. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a post having quadrants, a lever provided with a socketof angular form in cross section, said socket tapering lengthwise, abushing of angular cross section and tapering longitudinal section, saidbushing being divided lengthwise and being positioned within the socketand said bushing comprising jaws adapted to grip the "quadrants of thepost and maintain said post out of engagement withthe walls of saidsocket, and a screw swiveled to the bushing for imparting slidingmovement thereto, said screw and the bushing being carried by'the leverso as to be applied with the lever to a post to be rotated and to beremoved in a connected condition from said post.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with aquadrangular ended post to be rotated, of a handle to rotate said postcomprising a socket provided with a removable split bushing to surroundthe quadrants of the post and to prevent said post from contacting thewalls of the socket, and means cooperating with the handle and saidsocket to move said bushing longitudinally therein into and out ofengagement with said post and adapting said handle to be removablysecured to the post.

4:. In a device of the character described, the combination with a postto be rotated having a rectangular end, of a handle to rotate said postcomprising a socket provided with a removable bushing, said bushingbeing divided into a plurality of members each having an angular innerface and an lnturned flange provlded wlth a recess,

whereby when the bushing members are positioned within said socket theyare adapted to surround the rectangular end of the post with their sideedges maintained out of contact with each other to present lines ofdivision of the bushing at parts of the post other than at the angularcorners thereof for the protection of the angular surfaces of the post,and means carried by the handle to extend through the recess of thebushing and engage the flanges of the bushing members to move thebushing longitudinally within the socket into and out of engagement withthe post.

5. In a device of the class described, a controller handle having asocket tapering from the base of the handle toward the upper portionthereof, a detachable bushing comprising a pluralityof angular memberseach of varving thicknesses, said mem Q bers being provided withcooperating inturned flanges at the upperend thereof,,and a threadedrotatable element mounted above said socket and having swiveledconnection with the cooperating flanges of the bushing to move thebushing longitudinally with re- 'spect to the socket, said threadedrotatable element and said socket cooperating to maintain the bushing inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES GOETZ,

Witnesses:

H. I. BERNHARD, M. C. RODRIGUEZ,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

